“Okay.”
And just like that—
The distance between them shifted. It wasn’t gone. Wasn’t resolved but no longer remained untouchable. The odds looked good in their favor.
As they stepped out into the daylight together, neither of them said it out loud. Both of them felt it. This wasn’t just coincidence. And it wasn’t something either of them could pretend didn’t matter.
Not anymore. Fate was on their side.
They walked side by side down the block and neither of them werequite sure how to settle into the space between them.
It wasn’t uncomfortable. It wasn’t easy either.
Cars passed. A breeze moved lightly through the early afternoon air. The world carried on around them, ordinary and unaware, while something far less ordinary unfolded in the quiet between their steps.
Randi adjusted her grip on the coffee, her movements still measured, still careful.
“You do this often?” she asked after a moment.
“Skip out of line and follow women onto the street?” Brew replied.
A hint of amusement touched her lips. His humor was contagious.
“That depends. Is that what you just did?”
He glanced at her, something warmer in his expression now.
“No. I think I made a decision on the spot.”
She held his gaze for a second longer than necessary, then looked ahead again.
“Those can be dangerous, you know – that kind of spontaneity,” she said.
“I’m starting to realize that.”
The sandwich shop came into view just ahead—small, unassuming, with wide front windows and a handwritten menu taped inside the glass.
“Here?” she asked.
“It’s quiet,” he said. “And forgiving.”
She gave a small nod.
“That sounds promising.”
Inside, the shop was calm, the lunch rush was already thinning. A few tables were occupied, but there was space and room to sit without feeling watched.
They ordered simply.
Turkey. Soup. Nothing that required effort.
Nothing that required explanation.
When they sat, the table between them felt both too small and too large at the same time.
Randi set her coffee down carefully, her gaze drifting briefly to her hand before she pulled it back toward her.
Brew noticed.
